Custom Christmas
by PikamasterADV
Summary: An AdvanceShipping Christmas One Shot. Ash and his friends decide to do a gift exchange while resting in Merrymint City. AdvanceShipping AAMayL SatoHaru and the like.


**Well, here's a Christmas story. Enjoy. Explination later, I guess.**

* * *

An icy wind blew past him, and he bowed his head down to try to make his hat take the brunt of the gust. His green scarf flipped in the wind behind him, and his partner held on closely and tightly to his shoulder, trying to keep balance and warm.

The boy recalled how this break, and his problem, began.

Ash Ketchum and his friends, May, Max, and Brock were traveling through the Hoenn Region. Ash traveled to claim badges from the eight Gyms of Hoenn to compete in the Pokémon League, while May strived to win five ribbons in Contests scattered across the region. Brock had come all the way from Pewter City to join up with the group, and May's parents entrusted her brother Max to the care of her mentor and herself.

It was late December when Ash and his friends arrived in Merrymint City, and the entire town was decorated in the trappings of the season.

"Wow, look at all the lights!" May squealed with delight as she danced down the sidewalk of the big city. "And the wreaths!" She giggled and then began to sing "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

"I'm glad you're not a Pokémon, May," Max said, pushing up his glasses as the group walked down the road, "Otherwise your Sing attack would never work!"

May clenched her teeth for only a moment. "I'm not going to hurt you for that, Max. But only because it's Christmas time."

"So, Ash," Max turned to the older boy, "What have you and Brock done for Christmas while on your journey?"

Ash shrugged. "Nothin' really. We eat a big dinner, but that's not really anything new."

"When we still traveled with Misty," said Brock, "when the first Christmas we spent as a group came, we decided that it'd be too impractical to do any Christmas shopping while on a journey. We decided as a group to not get any presents for each other, because if one of us did, then the other two would feel like they have to."

May stopped in her tracks.

"N-no presents?" May blinked as if the concept was foreign to her.

"None at all?" Max's mouth dropped in disbelief.

"We still got gifts from our families," Ash said, "but nothing from each other. There's too much pressure there."

"B-but it's Christmas, guys!" May shouted. "Get in the spirit of things! We have to get presents for each other!"

"Please, Ash?" Max joined his sister's pleading. "It'll be so much fun to get presents for everyone."

"Pikapikachu," Pikachu nodded in agreement with Max from Ash's shoulder.

"But what if we can't find something for everyone?" Ash asked.

May smiled slyly. "I read in Brock's travel guide that Merrymint City has a huge shopping district. It'll be easy to find something for everyone!"

Brock shrugged. "I guess I don't see a problem with it. The group has changed after all, and some rules could use being broken."

"Alright then," Ash resigned himself to defeat. "We planned on staying here through the holiday anyway. It could be fun."

"Pikachu!" the Electric-Type Pokémon smiled.

The group then headed into town, and were just about the last group to book the Pokémon Center in that block of the city before the present Nurse Joy had to begin turning trainers away, sending them about eight blocks downtown to the closest location.

Ash spent the remainder of the day playing with Grovyle, Taillow, Corphish, Torkoal and Pikachu. The next Gym Battle wasn't too far away, and Ash figured that the best way to start the New Year would be with his next Gym Badge. Brock had disappeared for a few hours, but came back into the room they had borrowed at the Pokémon Center with lots of bags.

Ash looked up at the door from the bottom bunk of one of the two beds as the Pokémon Breeder stepped in. "Looks like you've gone and done some shopping," Ash said.

"I've gotten the presents for the day after tomorrow," he said with a grin. "As well as the supplies to carry us through the New Year."

"The day after tomorrow?" Ash sat up. "It's already the twenty-third of December?"

"Pikaa?" Pikachu tilted his head.

"You didn't realize?" Brock almost laughed. "You're lucky you still have tomorrow to do some shopping. I ended up getting everyone's presents in one run, as well as enough food to make a special feast for the Pokémon to enjoy."

"Aww man…" Ash groaned. "I guess I have to go out tomorrow."

"Pikaa…" the Mouse Pokémon sighed as well.

Suddenly, May and Max, as well as May's Torchic, Beautifly, and Skitty smashed through the door. "Hey, everyone!" May shouted, a huge grin on her face.

"And where did you two go?" Ash asked, hoping for a good answer.

May giggled as Beautifly landed on her red bandana. "Max and I went for a walk around the city. The lights look pretty during the day, but the city is gorgeous at night! You should have seen it!"

"Torchic!" the small bird chirped.

"Nya!" Skitty hopped up and down.

Max pushed up his glasses. "While my sister was off sight-seeing, I went and got my presents for the gift exchange," he stated, a hint of disdain in his voice.

The joy held by the Pokémon Coordinator and her Pokémon vanished like a puff of smoke "Oops…" she hung her head. "I guess I forgot to actually do my shopping…"

"That makes two of us, May," Ash chuckled. "I've been here all day with my Pokémon."

"You're not going shopping with me, Ash Ketchum!" May practically shouted at him. In response, Pikachu tumbled off of Ash's shoulder, Torchic and Skitty looked up at their trainer, and Ash, Max, and Brock all turned their eyes to a quickly reddening May.

"W-what I mean is, Ash can't go shopping with me because then he'll know what I'm getting him. A-and the rest of you. And we can't have that, can we?" she tried to laugh it off. "I guess the words just fell out of my mouth wrong."

"Yeah, you're right May," Ash laughed at the strange situation. "I guess you shouldn't know what I'm getting you either."

"Anyway, we might as well get ready for bed. Most of the stores are closed by now, anyway," Brock said. The rest of the group agreed and after a meal in the cafeteria, went to bed.

Ash tossed and turned all night in his sleep. "Gotta get those presents…" his whispered in his sleep.

Ash began dreaming about giving the presents to his friends. He gave a huge box to Brock, who opened it up, reached inside and pulled out what looked like big, sapphire earrings. Brock looked back at Ash and flung the earrings into the Trainer's eyes.

Ash awoke with a start, but he still like felt the huge sapphires were still somewhere nearby. Pikachu slept by the pillow, curled up in a ball. Ash laid still and quiet for a moment and listened for some movement from Brock. While he waited, he slipped off to sleep.

Ash began dreaming again, this time about Max. The young boy opened a small box, and a girlish giggle came out when the lid was lifted. Max became confused and looked into the box. He turned it over and shook it, but nothing fell out. Scowling, he tossed the empty container into Ash's face, causing him to awaken again.

Looking across the room at Max's sleeping form, he realized that Max couldn't be watching him, especially without his glasses. He looked at the clock nearby, and groaned when he saw it say 2:21 AM. He heard something move in the room, but realized it was probably just May turning in her sleep.

_May…_ Ash thought as he fell asleep once again.

In the dream this time, Ash searched though all his pockets and all around the room they were in, but couldn't find any boxes or anything. He looked up at May, who held tears in her eyes. She still handed him a small box, then turned away sobbing.

Ash awoke again, his heart feeling heavy. The clock this time said 2:46 AM. Ash looked up at May's bunk from across the room.

He didn't expect to meet May's eyes as they looked down at him.

May let out a gasp and quickly fell flat against her bed and out of Ash's eyesight.

Ash blinked for a moment, then laid against his pillow again. His heart was beating against his chest for some reason. He shrugged it off, and turned back over, and only after a bit of effort, was able to fall back to sleep.

When the morning sun drifted into the room again, Ash awoke to find May sitting at the dresser in the room, combing her hair with Skitty close by. "Hey May," Ash said, slipping out of bed. "You sleep well?"

May swallowed. "Y-yeah. How about you? I heard you tossing and turning for a while before I fell asleep."

Ash brushed it off. "It's just some stupid dreams. No big deal."

"I see…" May said, setting down her brush. She stood up and turned to Ash. "W-well, we'd better eat. We'll need our strength today, and Brock and Max are already in the cafeteria."

"Y-yeah…" Ash looked at the sleeping Pikachu. He stepped closer and picked the Pokémon up. "Hey pal. You'd better wake up."

"Pika…Chaaa," he yawned.

"Hey, Ash! Look!" May called him over to the window.

Ash sat Pikachu on his shoulder and looked out the window, standing on May's right.

The entire city was covered under a blanket of snow. The streets had already been cleared hours ago, it seemed, but along sidewalks and tops of buildings, there was a coat of fluffy white.

"It's so pretty out there…" May whispered, her mouth drawing close to Ash's ear.

"I… I… I guess…" Ash just stood there dumbfounded. He felt his hand silently moving closer to May's, but did nothing to stop it.

"Oh!" May jumped. "Look at the time!" she shouted, drawing attention from herself and her blushing face. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry! C'mon, Skitty!"

"Nya!" The Kitten Pokémon shouted as May dashed out the door.

Ash and Pikachu stood there for a moment, not realizing what had happened. They then followed May down to the cafeteria where they quickly ate breakfast. Brock's Lombre, Mudkip, and Forretress were already out, sitting near the Pokémon Breeder and Max. Ash and May let out their Pokémon to join the crowd. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder as the trainer quickly ate some of the provided breakfast. May was just behind him as she swallowed everything on her plate in as few bites as possible.

The two of them grabbed Pikachu and Torchic respectfully and ran out into the snowy streets. They bolted off into two separate directions and began searching for stores to shop in.

Ash walked down the road. It was still pretty early, but he had to work quickly. Stores would be closing early, since it was Christmas Eve. Ash walked down the roads with Pikachu on his shoulder and saw a bookstore. "Hey Pikachu, you think we can find a book to give Max?"

"Pikachu!" he nodded. The duo stepped into the door of the musty smelling and well lit bookstore. Ash began looking for a book that he knew Max would enjoy. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and ran across the carpeted floor. "Pikapi!" he pointed to a shelf.

Ash shuffled over and picked up the book Pikachu pointed at. "Hey, this is a book on Pokémon native to the Johto Region. This'll be a great book, especially since I remember he's been pesterin' May for a book like this." Ash smiled and rubbed Pikachu's head. "Thanks buddy."

With Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash went to the counter, but no one seemed to be there. He looked down into the glass case built into the counter, and saw a pink book. It was titled '_How to Survive Your First Crush_'. Ash thought for a moment that the book would perhaps be helpful for May, but quickly brushed it off. "She's never even had a crush yet," he laughed to himself, his heart picking up speed. "Is there anyone here?" he asked.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," an extremely short man in a white coat with a frizzy hair style said, climbing onto the stood behind the counter. His thin eyes met Ash's and he seemed to jump. "Oh, h-hey, sonny. What can I do fer ya?"

"I'd like to buy this book please. Could you gift-wrap it for me?" Ash replied.

"Yeah, seem like a poifect gift for a twoip-I mean, tot," The strange man laughed. He handed the wrapped book to Ash, who slipped it into his green backpack.

Ash paid the strange man. "Thank you very much," he said, leaving the small store. Ash preferred shopping from small specialty shops. The large amount of items in malls and super stores made him uncomfortable and he often felt like there was little chance of finding what he needed.

"Pika?" the Pokémon sniffed, flicking his ears.

Ash looked up as small, white flakes began falling from the sky. "Looks like it's gonna snow," he said. Ash took out his green scarf and wrapped it around his neck before he began trudging back towards the Pokémon Center. He figured that he probably passed some other stores, and that May would be long gone before he entered anywhere nearby.

Ash walked past the Pokémon Center, and just next door there was a small store that seemed to sell various home furnishings. While he knew that a refrigerator would be impractical to carry, he was sure he could find something that Brock could use. "I remember Brock saying something about the finish on his frying pan wearing down. It's harder to cook good tasting stuff like that, I guess."

"Pika pika…" Pikachu nodded.

A man with short blue hair, glasses and a white moustache stood at the counter. When Ash walked in, he seemed to hunch over, his hair covering most of his face. Ash walked up to him and asked, "Hey, can you help me find a frying pan?"

"Sure, sonny," the man choked out, "I can help you locate that perilous pan." He quickly stepped around the counter and dashed into an isle. Before Ash could even begin stepping down further into the store, the blue-haired man had already returned with a large, round pan with two handles on opposing sides.

"Hey, that's perfect!" Ash smiled.

"Why thank you," the man grinned and danced around the counter again. "I try my hardest."

"You ran really quick to get it," Ash noted.

"It's because of your Pikachu," The man blurted. He covered his mouth with both hands after saying it.

"What? What about my Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Is there somethin' wrong with him?"

"No, it's just that I'm… allergic to Pikachu. Yeah, that's right." he smiled uneasily from behind his glasses.

"Is there a way you could gift wrap that for me?" Ash asked him.

"Of course!" The man smiled, rubbing his hands nervously. "It is Christmas Eve after all."

After sticking the wrapped pot into the bag and paying the man, Ash began turning towards the door. A pink apron, trimmed in ribbons caught his eye. His mind briefly pictured May wearing it and cooking. "Nah," Ash laughed. "That's something Brock'd wear. Not May."

Ash quickly shuffled back into the Pokémon Center and into the room he and his friends had. Max was lying down, playing with Skitty. Brock was nowhere to be seen, but he was probably off pestering Nurse Joy.

Ash set the bag on his bed and sat the wrapped book next to it. He shoved the items under his covers and turned to Max. "Now no peeking," he said to May's little brother.

"Oh, I won't." he said. "But you seem like you're one gift short."

"Yeah, I know," Ash said. "But I'll handle it. I'm going to go find it now."

Ash shot out of the Pokémon Center into the streets just as a the wind began pick up, blowing white flakes through the streets. An icy wind blew past him, and he bowed his head down to try to make his hat take the brunt of the gust. His green scarf flipped in the wind behind him, and his partner held on closely and tightly to his shoulder, trying to keep balance and warm. He trudged through the snow, his scarf flicking the sky behind him. His mind wasn't on the cold wind, or on Pikachu. It was on May.

"It's hard to find her something, Pikachu," he said. "I mean, I know what she likes, don't I?"

"Pika…" the Pokémon shrugged.

"She likes Pokémon Contets, right? And traveling… She's a girl, too, so there's lots of girl things I could get…" Ash continued to think out loud. "But if it was as easy as getting her a girl thing, then why didn't I get that book or that apron?"

"Pikachu…" he sighed.

"Let's try in this store," Ash pointed to the largest building on the block they were walking down. "There's gotta be something in there."

Ash stepped inside and shook the snow off of himself. Looking up, he discovered that he was in a large department store. Entire sections of the floor were devoted to clothing. In the middle, between escalators, there was a counter that sold perfume.

"Alright, this is the perfect place to find a gift for May!" Ash said to Pikachu, who smiled excitedly.

Ash only just began looking at some of the girls clothes before he realized he had no idea what sort of clothes to buy. "I don't even know what May's size is in anything. If I get something too big, she'll get upset because she'll think I think she's fat, and if I get something too small, she won't be able to wear it at all."

"Pika?" Pikachu cocked his head to the side and looked at Ash.

"When you're raised by a single mom, you learn at least a few things about girls." Ash said.

"Pikachu," he blinked.

Ash walked over to the perfume counter and smelled several different scents. "Augh, I can't pick one of these," Ash moaned. "They all smell the same to me. I can't tell if May'll like one of these or not."

Pikachu sighed a "Pika…" as the duo stepped onto the escalator.

Ash looked up and saw a red bandana and quickly darted behind a coat rack.

Torchic, who stood on the ground by her trainer's feet, blinked. "Tore?"

Ash and Pikachu remained silent and listened to May talk to the woman with long red hair.

"I just can't decide on anything," she said. "I've already gotten something for my brother, and my older friend, but this guy's really hard to shop for. I have to find just the perfect present."

"And why must one so young worry about procuring the pefect present on this precarious day?" the woman smiled behind her sunglasses.

"Well, it's probably been a long time, for you, but…" May began blushing. "No! I can't say it!" she smiled, holding her own face.

The woman's sunglasses fell off her nose, but she quickly regained her composure. "Am I sensing twerpish love?" she egged May on.

May's face turned a deeper red than her bandana or blouse. "It's not like that. I mean, I like him. Like him a lot. But he's so caught up in training, he probably doesn't notice."

Ash swallowed. Pikachu did likewise.

"So you need the perfect gift to tell him how you feel?" the long haired woman asked.

"I guess so…" she looked away.

"Torchic…" the Pokémon sighed.

"Well, it's easy to get a gift," the woman tried to perk May up. "If you really like him, just think what he'd like, and get him that."

"Is it really that easy?" May asked. "I don't want to send mixed signals. I don't want to seem disinterested, but if I come on too strong, I might scare him."

The long haired woman laughed. "Yeah, men scare easily when confronted with love." She began tapping her chin. "Is there anything he needs? That wouldn't come off to lovey-dovey, you know."

May snapped her fingers. "I've got it! I know what I can get Ash!" May ran past the coat rack and down the escalator with Torchic following closely behind her. After May was out of sight, Ash stood up and looked around the room.

The red haired woman saw the Pallet boy stand up and rushed over to him. "Hello, and aren't you just the most precious twerp?" she smiled. "And what an adorable Pikachu!"

"Excuse me," Ash tried to push past her.

The woman grabbed onto his arm. "Now don't be so hasty," she smiled. "I'm sure I can help you out."

"Wobbuffet!" A Pokémon wearing the same uniform that the woman did appeared behind her.

"Wobbuffet?" Ash asked, looking behind her.

"Uh- yeah," the woman laughed. "We're an equal opportunity Poké-Employer here," she said.

"Okay," Ash didn't give it any other thought. "Well, anyway, I've gotta keep lookin'."

"For the perfect gift for a friend of yours?" the woman guessed.

Ash felt his face heat up. "Yeah, a friend. Just a friend, though. And I'd really rather look for it myself."

Ash managed to walk away from the woman. "Alright," she shouted to him as he walked on, "but if you need any help, I'll be over here!"

"Wobbuffet!"

Ash groaned as he walked on. "C'mon, Ash. Think…"

"Pika…"

"You can think, too, Pikachu," Ash said. "I can't think it up on my own…"

"Pikachu…" he sighed.

He continued walking around the department store, searching for something that would work. "Jewelry would be saying too much," he sighed. "But something ordinary wouldn't say enough."

"Pikapi!" the Pokémon pointed to an object on a far off shelf.

Ash followed Pikachu's pointing to a small box on a shelf across the room. It was about three inches wide, three inches tall, and about six inches long. The outside of it was covered in soft, brown felt. When Ash flipped up the lid, a small tune began to play.

The wheel in the box flicked the tiny keys, playing the quiet tune. Ash and Pikachu stayed quiet during the whole time the song played. The melody played gently, and the tempo began to slow as the music box began to wind down. When it stopped playing, Ash picked it up. "This is the gift. This is what I'll give May."

"Pikachu…"

Ash paid the red-haired woman for the music box and had her gift wrap it for him. The wind had died down when Ash and Pikachu stepped outside. They quickly dashed for the Pokémon Center, hoping not to get caught in another storm. The Pokémon Center wasn't that far away, and they managed to get inside before night fall.

Ash and Pikachu returned to the room to find Max and Brock waiting for them. "Hey guys," Ash blinked. "Have you all seen May?"

"I was hoping you had," Max said. "After you came back earlier today, May slipped in and out without sayin' a word to me and she hasn't come back."

"She's probably out shopping right now," Brock tried to laugh it off. "You know how wrapped up she gets in it. Let's wait for her to come back."

Ash, Pikachu, Max, and Brock all sat in the room, not saying or doing much of anything. Ash kept standing up and looking out the window to the street to see if he could see her or her bright orange Torchic. But neither of them appeared.

The sun set behind the overcast sky, and the streetlights began to turn on one by one. Ash stood at the window and counted each one as it turned on. Pikachu nodded with each count by Ash.

"Maybe I should go looking for her," Ash said. "I bet I could find her."

"Pikachuu," he nodded.

"I better go with you then, Ash," Brock said. "Two heads are better than one."

"No, Brock, why don't you stay here with Max," Ash replied, stepping over to the door. "I don't want him to start freakin' out if we all disappear."

As Ash reached for the door knob, the door swung open and smash Ash right in his nose, causing him to fall backwards. Pikachu rolled on the ground as May stepped in the door, holding some large bags.

May looked down and saw that Ash had been hit by her door. "Oh, Ash! Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

Ash rubbed his nose for a moment, and then checked for blood. Thankfully, nothing seemed broken or bleeding. "I'm fine, May. But where were you? We were gettin' worried."

May's face flushed. "I was just finishing up shopping," she smiled.

"We should probably exchange presents now," Brock suggested. "We'll be speaking with our parents too much tomorrow to do it. Is that okay with you guys?

"Sure, why not?" Ash smiled.

Brock handed out his gifts to everyone first, and received his own from the others as well.. Ash and May unwrapped canisters of Pokémon Food. "It's special Pokémon Food developed for training and contests respectfully," he explained. "Think of it as Poké-pep pills. They'll be sure to energize the Pokémon before training or battle."

Max opened his round present and found a type of Pokéball. The bottom was white, but the top was striped green and brown. "What kind of Pokéball is this?" he asked Brock.

"It's called a Nest Ball," Brock said. "It works really well at catching young and inexperienced Pokémon. I know you won't be starting your journey for a while yet, but when you do, you can catch a young Pokémon with this and raise it."

After the three of them thanked Brock, he opened the present that Max gave him: a bottle of cologne. "You'd be surprised at the weird looks I got when I bought this," he smirked. "I thought it smelled really good, so maybe you'll be able to finally impress one of those girls you're always hitting on."

Brock chuckled. "Thanks, Max."

"Ooh! Ooh! Open mine next, Brock!" May giggled.

Brock opened up the rectangular package to find a book. "Is this… a book of pickup lines?" he asked.

"I thought it might be helpful," she laughed, half embarrassed. "I mean, what you're normally saying is so cheesy. Maybe what's in the book can help!"

Brock sighed. "Thanks, May."

Brock finally unwrapped the pan Ash had gifted him. "I remember that you said something about your pan getting' worn out, so I thought that I'd replace it for you."

"Thanks, Ash," Brock regained his smile. "I'll be able to cook up some great stuff with this."

Next, Ash and May handed their gifts to Max, who gave them his presents for them in return. Max opened Ash's present first. "Hey, wow! I've been wanting this book for a long time!"

"I thought so," Ash smiled, rubbing Pikachu's head. "Pikachu helped me find it."

"Pikaa…" he chuckled.

"Well, it seems like someone was paying attention when I was asking," Max said smugly to his sister.

"Well, I guess you won't want what I got you, then," May responded, knowingly.

Max opened up May's gift and pulled out a yellow card that had two speakers on it. "What's this?" Max blinked.

"It's the Match Call," May said. "You can attach it to the PokéNav and it'll act like a cell phone. You can call Mom and Dad whenever you want now."

Max's eye lit up at the news. "Wow! May, you're the best sister ever! Thank you so much! I've gotta try this out now!" He dove into his backpack and pulled out the PokéNav. He attached it as fast as he could and took off out of the room to try to call his home.

"I guess I'll go ahead and see what Nurse Joy's cooking for Christmas Eve dinner," Brock smiled to both Ash and May. "I'll see you two later."

After Brock shut the door, Ash, May, and Pikachu sat in silence for a moment. "S-so," May laughed uneasily. "What'd Max get you?"

Ash opened up the flat package and pulled out a disc. "It looks like it's a burned DVD. It says 'Silver Conference' on there. That's probably what's on there. That'll be cool to watch." He then turned his attention back to May. "What'd he get you?"

May unwrapped the round package. "It's a new Frisbee. I guess he saw that mine was getting sorta warped with all the practicing we've been doing."

"Yeah," Ash chuckled, and then he fell silent.

"I… I guess there's only two more presents now…" May said.

"Yeah," Ash said, feigning distraction.

"I- I guess I'll give you yours first," May said. She slid him a small wrapped rectangle.

Ash looked up into May's uneasy eyes and gave her a smile. He opened up the paper carefully and took out the small, blue object.

He flipped it open to the first page, the reoriented it horizontally after seeing that it was.

"I-it's a calendar," May said. "You never really keep track of what day of the week, month or even year is," she said. But Ash wasn't even looking at the dates of January of the next year.

"May… The picture for January.." he whispered.

Ash remembered that day. After recovering May's Torchic from Team Rocket, Norman and Caroline, May's parents, sent Max along with Ash and May on their journey. Shortly before they left, Norman took a picture of the three and had sent them copies of it. Ash, May, Pikachu, Torchic, and Max all smiled for the camera.

"It's a Custom Calender," she said. "I provided the pictures and arranged them myself," she added, blushing.

Ash flipped the month to Febuary. This picture was a composite of two. The left half was Ash as he was at his Rustboro Gym Battle against Roxanne and her Nosepass. Pikachu was poised in the air to land another Iron Tail attack. On the other side, May stood on stage with her brother Max and the Pokémon Coordinator Janet in May's first ever Contest experience.

March was also a composite. Ash sat next to Taillow, Treecko, Corphish and Pikachu in the shot while training on Dewford Island. Opposite this training shot was a picture of May in her green bikini that caused Ash to blush.

"Uh, yeah," May laughed, embarrassed by the picture. "There's a reason it's small enough for only you…"

The Month of April was headlined by Ash's battle with Brawly and Treecko's last charge against Hariyama, and May's training for her first contest in Slateport City. Ash blinked, trying to remember how much time had passed between then and now. "We've been traveling together for a long time, huh?" he asked rhertorically.

"Mm-Hmm," May said, standing next to Ash while he flipped through each month.

The month of May had a beautiful picture of the fireworks that May and Ash helped make happen. Ash smiled at the Torchic and Pikachu patterns in the sky. "Those are our Pokémon right there," he said to himself.

June brought him a pain in his stomach. A shot of Beautifly knocked out on the field opposite a Roselia and a certain green-haired Coordinator stood atop the month. May sighed. "That still hurts, even though that was months ago. I put it in here because I remember you trying to cheer me up."

Ash smiled to himself, but reminded himself that it was practically his fault she lost. "I should have helped you prepare more. You could have beaten him."

May smiled and flipped the page to the month of July. Another group picture was there. It held the trainers Romeo and Julie, as well as their Volbeat and Illumise. May was playfully pushing the wig Ash wore onto his head and winking at the Camera. Brock stood off the side, feeling crushed, while Max tried to cheer him up. "Who took this one," Ash asked.

"I had Brock's Mudkip hit the camera for me," she said. "I tried to use ones that I took. Other ones I had taken while I was busy, and others still were taken from newspapers and stuff."

Ash blinked. "You put a lot of thought into this, huh?" He then turned to the next month.

Misty's face smiled at him as he turned the page. Ash stood next to her, with Misty linking their arms, May stood to Ash's right, opposite of Misty, and looked a little upset. Brock and Max dumbly smiled at the camera, much like Ash. "You don't look very happy with this one…" Ash chuckled.

May sighed and quickly turned the page to September, where her face beamed with accomplishment. She held her first ribbon in the air before the crowd. The disappointment Ash felt back in the June picture was erased. "See?" May said. "We got better. And we did it together."

October was a picture from the North Petalburg Newspaper. It was an artists rendering of May, as a delicate figure with angelic features and a shapely form that caused Ash to focus on it longer than he should. On the other side of the picture was a dumpy, short person with scraggly black hair and a red hat.

"Well," May chuckled, "at least I look nice."

"Very funny," Ash rolled his eyes as he turned to November.

The only two things he could see in the picture where his face and May's. They were angrily shouting at each other, but the Pokémon and their opponent were obscured by the focus on the faces.

Ash could practically read the lips of the picture. "We're not a couple! And we're not happy!" is what they're saying at that moment.

"We've been through a lot, Ash," May smiled, drawing close to him. "And we're still friends through all of it."

Ash choked for a second. "Y-yeah," he said. "But why wouldn't we be friends? You're a great person, May."

The Pokémon Coordinator blushed. "T-thanks, Ash."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ash stood up and dropped the calendar next to the sleeping Pikachu. He turned and pulled the wrapped music box out of his backpack. May unwrapped the felt box and then opened it up, but no song came out. Ash frowned. "What happened?"

May giggled. "Did you remember to wind it up?"

Ash blushed. "N-no, I guess not."

Ash took the box back in his hands and cranked the mechanism up. He handed it back to May, and the song began to play.

After a few moments of playing the melody, tears began to slide from May's eyes down her cheeks. "May, what's wrong?' Ash asked. "Why are you crying?"

"Ash, do you know what kind of song this is?" she asked him, her eyes sparkling from the recently shed tears.

Ash swallowed sharply. "I… no, not really. I just picked it up because it sounded nice."

"Ash," May whispered, "this is a love song."

Ash's face turned as read as Pikachu's cheeks. He looked around the room for Pikachu, hoping for support, only to be reminded that the Pokémon was asleep on the bed.

"It's a very pretty love song that was popular a few years back," May said. "I didn't know they had it as a music box."

Ash swallowed, but said nothing.

"I wanted to get you something special for Christmas, Ash," she said. "I wanted to remind you of all the good times we've had together, as well as some of the hard times. That's why I chose that calendar." She looked into his eyes, and began stuttering as she spoke. "S-s-someone once t-told m-m-me th-that boys a-a-a-are r-r-really af-f-f-fraid of l-l-l-love…" May swallowed her emotions. "So I just wanted to show you that it's been there all along!" she blurted, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Ash wrapped his arms around May. "Shh… Don't cry, May. Don't cry." May's sobs began to slow down, and the both of them just listened to the gentle playing music box.

Ash felt May's chest pressed against his own before he realized what was going on and what he had done almost out of intuition. "May," he asked, "are you gonna be alright now?"

"I will be," she whispered back.

"Why did you cry, May?" Ash asked as he began to sway side to side, rocking her.

"I… I'm happy that I was able to tell you, Ash. I love… you. And I thought the music box… I thought… you might have felt the same way. But… you didn't know, and I… I though that maybe there was a chance. Maybe. Ash, d-d-do you l-l-love… me?"

Ash replied with "Shh…" and continued to rock her. "Don't get upset May. It upsets me when you get upset."

"Ash," May whispered as the Pallet Youth continued to rock her from side to side.

Ash felt his face drawn to the top of her head, where he planted a soft kiss on her red bandana. He tilted her head up and softly kissed her forehead while May's eyes remained closed. She halfway opened her sapphire eyes and looked Ash back into his auburn eyes. She closed them again as Ash closed his and pressed their lips together for a kiss.

Ash felt his heart race faster and faster, and he could feel every place where his body touched May's. He felt every fingertip form her hands on his chest as he held her close. He moved his hands to the small of her back, and May moved her arms to encircle Ash's back, pressing their chests together.

Ash broke off the kiss, leaving May's lips to hand in the air for a moment. Ash let her go, and saw that May's face was a deeper red than he had ever seen before.

"I-uh, guess we should go meet up with Max and Brock now," Ash laughed to himself.

"Y-yeah," May smiled. "But we'll have to do that again sometime…"

Ash wrapped his arms around May and drew her in close again. "Merry Christmas, May," he smiled into her eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Ash," she whispered back before locking lips with him again.

May broke off the kiss only after a moment and wagged her finger in Ash's face. "Let's get back to this later. We don't want anyone getting suspicious," she laughed.

* * *

**I know some of you were hoping for another chapter of MC2. Don't worry, it's in the works. I just got clubbed over the head with the inspiration for this Christmas Oneshot while working at the ol' Dairy Queen during the holiday break. I hope you enjoyed it.  
**


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